good morning. breaking news. navy seal teams rescue two hostages, one an american, during an overnight raid in somalia. we're live at the pentagon with the rate. no turning back. president obama lays out an election year agenda to strengthen the economy and bolster the middle class. >> it's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom. no bailouts. no handouts and no copouts. >> this morning, reaction from vice president joe biden and republican hopeful newt gingrich. and rushed to the hospital. demi moore taken from her home in an ambulance after a friend calls 911. now her representative says she's getting professional help for, quote, exhaustion today,

she's getting professional help for, quote, exhaustion today, wednesday, january 25, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm ann curry. that hostage rescue was carried out a short time before president obama delivered the state of the union address. >> the president appeared to have referenced the raid before the speech when he said "good job" to leon panetta. >> this morning he released a statement thanking special operations forces for their, quote, extraordinary courage and capability. we want to go to jim miklaszewski at the pentagon for more on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. score another one for u.s. special operations forces who rescued these two hostages. remarkably, this mission was,

indeed, still unfolding even during the president's state of the union speech. and it was, in fact, the president who dropped a hint that something was going down. president obama himself tipped off the world to the rescue when he openly thanked leon panetta before his speech. >> good job tonight. >> reporter: the president got word that jessica buchanan and paul fisted were rescued in the raid in somalia. two teams of u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s in helicopters landed near the compound where the two hostages were held. as the s.e.a.l.s approached they came under intense fires. nine kidnappers were killed. no americans were wounded. the s.e.a.l.s grabbed the hostages, loaded them into choppers and flew them to an

undisclosed location outside somalia. buchanan and fisted were working for the danish council providing relief for so mali refugees when they were kidnapped in october. in a white house photo released minutes ago president obama is seen on the telephone immediately after that state of the union speech last night telling jessica buchanan's father that his daughter had been rescued. neither one of the hostages was hurt during the raid. they are getting medical examinations in that region before heading home bringing the three-month-old deal to a welcome end. matt? >> jim miklaszewski, thank you very much. joe biden is the vice president of the united states. good morning. good to see you. >> good morning, matt. >> talk to me a little bit more about the raid in somalia to free the aid workers. how long had it been in the works? >> it had been in the works for a while, matt. the president authorized it

because the special forces said this was the time. jessica's health was beginning to decline. she's a young woman in her 30s and we wanted to act and they did. the president followed the recommendation. as i was leaving the white house last night when the situation room was under way and it was a remarkable testament to the special operations forces. these guys are absolutely incredible. >> did the president realize he was tipping the press off to the operation by congratulating secretary panetta before the address? >> i don't think so. i didn't ask him about it. the answer is i don't think so. >> stand by, mr. vice president. i want to ask you about the state of the union address in a moment. first i want to bring in nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd who has more on that. good morning to you. >> the president's state of the union was not a campaign speech per se. but his populist rhetoric is

something we're going to hear a lot of in the general election campaign ahead. president obama used this election year state of the union address to talk about the future and boast about what he believes are his best accomplishments. >> the state of our union is getting stronger. we've come too far to turn back now. >> reporter: bracing for a tough re-election fight the president struck a populist tone. >> we can have an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone gets their fair share and everyone plays by the same rules. >> reporter: he went out of his way to strike a patriotic tone using the words "america" and "american" 88 times. >> what's at stake aren't democratic or republican values but american values. american manufacturers are hiring again. america is back. >> reporter: sticking to the populist theme he went after easy targets -- wall street and

congress. >> i talked about the deficit of trust between main street and wall street but the divide between this city and the country is at least as bad. >> reporter: foreign policy mostly took a back seat but one topic came up twice. >> for the first time in two decades, osama bin laden is not a threat to this country. >> reporter: the president going out of his way to use the successful bin laden mission as a lesson on how washington should work. >> one of my proudest possessions is the flag that the s.e.a.l. team took with them on the mission to get bin laden. on it are each of their names. some may be democrats. some may be republicans. but that doesn't matter. >> reporter: but the presidential campaign was never far from his mind. one of his signature proposals -- creating a 30% minimum tax rate for multimillionaires and billionaires. >> asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his

secretary in taxes? most americans would call that common sense. >> reporter: the president could have been talking directly to mitt romney who released his tax returns tuesday showing he paid less than 15%. under the president's proposal romney's tax bill would more than double. >> he thinks america is on the right track. >> reporter: in an interview with brian williams, romney questioned the optimistic tone. >> the idea that we are on the right track is foreign to people here. >> reporter: the emotional high point of the evening took place before anyone uttered a word. arizona congresswoman gabby giffords who is resigning her seat today received an enthusiastic bipartisan salute, including a special greeting from the president. while the president's traditional post state of the union travel schedule looks awfully like a campaign swing, he's hitting five battleground

states in three days from michigan, arizona, nevada, colorado and iowa, matt. >> let us bring back in vice president joe biden. good morning again. let's talk about the state of the union address last night. it's not supposed to be a political a speech yet it seemed to give us a view of some of the strategies that president obama is going to use in the upcoming campaign. he's going to hit hard on what the middle class sees as unfair distribution of wealth and power in this country and also hit hard at congress. fair assessment? >> well, i think they're both accurate. it's one thing to have a congress that is do-nothing. another thing is a congress that stops everything. we can't function that way. he made it clear he wants to see that changed. with regard to the middle class, this is what it's all about. we have been talking about this from the day we got elected. what's fair for the middle class and it's fair for the middle class to have a shot at a good job, fair for the middle class

to keep their house payments up to be able to refinance, to be able to educate their kids. we must restore -- it's not about the other guy. it's about the middle class. what should we do to help them? >> on the subject of taxes he wants millionaires and billionaires to pay at least 30% of their income in taxes. he says you can call it class warfare, americans think it's fair. he admitted he can't get it done this year. why should we believe if he's re-elected and republicans retain control of the house that he can get it done then? >> because the american people are making it clear. look, i may be mistaken but i think you and i talked at the end of last calendar year about the payroll tax and how the republicans are never going to do it. they just weren't going to do it. guess what. the american public said enough is enough. we didn't change their mind. what happened is not only did the american public change their mind, the wall street journal, the people said, whoa, what are

you doing? look, i still think there is a center of the republican party, particularly their leadership, that's going to begin to regain control of this -- the element of the republican party that doesn't want to do anything in the house. the american people aren't putting up with this. we want to bring jobs back and these guys aren't going to act? we'll all be surprised if the american public will move them. >> during the speech the president said the americans feel nothing will be done in congress because of deep division and of course it's a political year. maybe not the year after that. but in 2008 didn't candidate barack obama run on the idea that he could fix washington and change the status quo. if he hasn't accomplished that, why should we give him another chance? >> what we should do is get rid

of folks in the congress who are preventing it from happening. the president came in and immediately passed the recovery act, the health care bill. immediately started putting people back to work. he immediately put us in a position where we created for 23 months in a row created jobs. there was an old song -- and along came jones. along came the tea party. along came 87 members of the house who said, we're not going to do anything. i was part of the negotiations. we shook hands a couple times and the leaders came back and said, joe, sorry, we can't get it done. it's about clearing away folks who are obstructionists. not the opposition. obstructionists. >> let me turn to the upcoming campaign. on the republican side it seems to be boiling down to a battle between mitt romney and newt gingrich with apologies so rick santorum. i'm sure he would have something to say about that. they are now trading shots at

each other. newt gingrich on mitt romney's days as a venture capitalist and mitt romney seems to be attacking newt gingrich's temperame temperament. you were in the senate when newt gingrich was in the house. he'll be joining us next. do you believe he has the temperament to be president of the united states? >> i think newt's a fine guy. i think his policies are a big mistake for the united states. i think they will take us back to the economic policies of the last administration, unleash wall street, all the stuff you're hearing. i like newt. i think newt's a good guy. >> you don't think there is a temperament -- >> no. i don't have a dog in this fight. >> you may soon have a dog in this fight. >> there may be dogs in the fight but we'll know who all of the dogs are at that time. i'll let the republicans sort out who's going to run against

us. >> vice president joe biden. mr. biden, nice to see you. thank you very much. >> good to see you, matt. thank you. >> now here's ann. >> matt, thank you. now let's get reaction from the republican side. presidential hopeful newt gingrich is with us now from coral gables, florida, where he's campaigning for next week's primary. mr. speaker, good morning. >> good morning. good to be with you. >> good to have you here as well, especially after a late night. >> first a chance to react to the vice president who appears to give you a thumbs-up on your temperament. >> we worked together on issues and there is a mutual respect there. i thought he was a little bit guarded which was nice for me. he's obviously waiting to see who's nominated. i'm sure the minute we have a nominee he'll be sharper with his comments. >> on the president's state of the union address what proposal did you agree with the president on that you would act on if you were still house speaker today?

>> it's hard to know. on the one hand he has a lot of good rhetoric. i like a lot of his rhetoric. we are in a state with a lot of unemployment, where houses are worth less than mortgages, in a state where foreclosures are a problem. the rhetoric was terrific. his actions haven't been. i find the gap between president obama's words and his deeds to be astounding. he ran on bringing us together. he ran on "yes, we can." yet last night he seemed to set up a year of divisiveness, of getting nothing done. i thought it was a sad decline from the hope and optimism he ran on in 2008. i think it reflects the last couple of years. >> let me ask, he did talk about proposals to create jobs like tax cuts for businesses to keep jobs in america, trade agreements to help create jobs and upgrading buildings, repairing the infrastructure to

create more construction jobs. you disagree with the proposals having the power to create jobs in america? >> no. i'm very much in favor of creating more jobs but at the same time he talked about, if he meant it, what would be a large tax increase on people who create jobs. his proposal of a minimum tax of 30% would double the capital gains tax if that's what he meant. with president obama you never know what the gap is between the speech and what comes up later on as policy. he did nothing last night, for example, to explain why he vetoed the keystone pipeline which killed at least 50,000 jobs and may have driven canada into a partnership with china which would make no sense at all. he didn't explain the price of gasoline which is the highest in american history. he has no proposal to lower that price. after the failure of solyndra and other government investments he went back to the same model.

he said really smart bureaucrats will make the right decisions about new technologies. we don't have evidence that it works. i think what you saw the president do is lay down a campaign speech which is how he's going to run this year. he's going to run as a left wing populist on class warfare and try to say big government is a better solution than free markets. i think that will be a dividing line over which the american people will make a gigantic decision in november. >> i want to ask about the relief of your freddie mac contract. it did state uh lobbying, you're there was a man described as freddie mac's chief lobbyist. what's the distinction? >> he's described as the head of public policy. we talked about what their positions ought to be and we talked about where they found themselves. let me point out. i think it's fascinating to watch everybody go by and dismiss it. the contract says "no lobbying,"

period. that was the question raised and the contract is clear. no lobbying, period. i offered strategic advice. i think that's the important thing to remember. i stand by that. also in the one written document at freddie mac said they needed more regular fwlagss. the one time i spoke to the house republicans about freddie mac the new york times reported in july of 2008, i told them not to give freddie mac or fannie mae money. i said i was opposed to giving them taxpayer money. it's hard to explain why my offering strategic advice wasn't in the public interest when i said, don't give them the money. >> in the meantime you have defended lobbying. why not just own this, mr. speaker? why not say out loud -- >> there is a hunl difference. >> mm-hmm. go ahead, sir. >> first of all, lobbying is a legitimate business if that's the business you are in. lobbyists find clients whose interests he represents. i gave people strategic advice

and said what i believed, period, regard to anybody who happened to be involved in our companies. that's a huge difference. being a public citizen isn't the same as being a lobbyist. >> one last question here. house minority leader nancy pelosi said you could never be president because she said, quote, there is something i know. is there anything nancy pelosi knows that would stop you from being president of the united states, newt gingrich? >> who knows? she lives in a san francisco environment of strange fantasies and strange understandings of reality. i have no idea what's in nancy pelosi's head. if she knows something, spit it out. tell us what it is. i have no idea what she's talking about. >> on that note we leave it, mr. speaker. thank you very much. >> let's get a check of the top stories from natalie at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. we begin with thousands of egyptians gathering in cairo's

tahrir square to mark the first anniversary of the start of the uprising that toppled hosni mubarak. ayman mohyeldin is in cairo with the latest. >> reporter: thousands have descended on the streets but they are not as unite as last year. some are here to celebrate new democratic guidance. others are here to renew sustained protests against a ruling military council. they want them to hand over power. the military council today announced the end of a 30-year emergency law in certain exceptions. nonetheless people want a democratic transition faster. the military says it won't happen until june of this year. back to you. >> ayman mohyeldin in cairo. thank you. a funeral will be held for legendary penn state football coach joe paterno today. tuesday, hundreds of mourners

filed by a closed casket. paterno died sunday from lung cancer at 85. a remarkable story out of mexico, a 28-year-old woman said she was happy tuesday after undergoing a heart transplant in mexico city, but the heart she received was dropped to the ground last week just yards from the hospital after being transported 280 miles. thankfully it was in plastic bags still contained. a new study suggests a common household chemical may reduce effectiveness of vaccines in children. the study found children exposed to compounds known as pfcs have lower immune responses to diphtheria and tetanus. they can be found in microwave popcorn, nonstick cookware and certain cleaners. big changes being announced to

school lunches. schools will offer healthier meals that are lower in sodium, include more whole grains, fruits and vegetables and low fat or skim milk. nasa released stunning and vivid images of a massive solar storm under way in space. the event forced several airlines to divert dozens of flights because the solar flares are interfering with radio signals. there are also northern lights in the sky which may be seen for the next few days. we are in a very active solar period. we could see disruptions over the next couple of months. >> no nonstop flights to the sun anymore? >> can't go there. sorry. >> they can go at night. >> oh, okay, good. >> some day. >> natalie, thank you very much. mr. roker? >> i like that idea. let's see what's happening. we have two areas of severe weather. in texas they have flash flood warnings, watches.

austin, texas, carseses submerged. police are making rescues from homes themselves. we are talking about tornado watches until 11:00 this morning central standard time. rainfall amounts from three to five inches in the next 48 hours. >> good morning. it will turn out to beat a pretty nice day today. we'll be in the upper 40's today. a mixture of sun and clouds. and that's your latest weather. matt? >> just ahead, demi moore receiving treatment after being rushed to the hospital. we'll have the latest but first, this is "today" on nbc.

coming up, michael skinkel insisting on his innocence in the murder of a young neighbor. >> we'll get reaction from the mother and brother. first a check of your local news and weather. at h&r b lock , you could get money that's both fast and free on an emerald card. just bring in your tax information... and get a refund anticipation check in 7-14 days,

for up to $9,999. call 1-800-hrblock to make an appointment. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here's a look at one of our top stories. maryland lawmakers had high hopes for the state of the union address. they wanted to hear the president be strong, specific, and bipartisan. after the speech, reactions were divided largely along party lines but republicans were unhappy with suggestions that

millionaires pay a little less than 30% in taxes. >> still dealing with the west side delay spread accident is gone at the outer loop but frederick. down to 15 miles per hour approaching 95. you can see delays on eastbound i 70 stretching back to 32 this morning. eastbound 32 at 95, we have an accident we're tracking. lauretta avenue, vehicle fire. -- warwick avenue, we have a vehicle fire. let's give you a live view of traffic. 795 from franklin boulevard, slow go all the way to the beltway. we will switch to a live view of the beltway at fred reckord road. delays are in place on the west side. >> so far so good.

a few high, thin clouds, but no present addition to talk about. temperatures are not bad. 36 at parkton. it's 37 degrees in rising sun. mixture of sunshine and a few clouds. high temperatures 48, above average for this time of year. good chance for rain on thursday. it will linger into friday morning. morning.

7:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 25th of january 2012. it's a bright morning here in new york. you can check out the view from the top of the rock. down below our plaza is packed this morning. it's not too cold outside. i'm not sure. >> 39. >> we have had cold mornings so we're grateful it's not as cold as that. i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. just ahead, a health scare for demi moore. e actress rushed to the hospital after a friend placed an emergency 911 call from moore's home. we'll get more information about that. >> and newly minted oscar nominees. people were surprised and happy to hear melissa mccarthy's name

called in the best supporting actress category. we'll hear from the breakout star of "bridesmaids" and glenn close who used a dramatic role to score her best actress nomination. we'll talk about it when she joins us live in studio. >> both talented women. we'll meet a young woman turning heads in the classroom despite living in a homeless shelter. last night she got to attend the state of the union in washington. she joins us this morning to tell us about it later. >> been driving all night basically to get here. we begin with the health emergency for demi moore. savannah guthrie has details. what can you tell us? >> a friend called 911 after moore started shaking in her home. now moore is being treated for exhaustion brought on by stress. paramedics responded to moore's beverly hills home monday night. e. online confirmed with the fire department after a friend of the actress called 911. >> she was home with another

female friend who witnessed demi started behaving as if she was suffering from a seizure. that woman called 911 is. they came to the house and when they saw demi's condition they rushed her straight to the hospital. >> reporter: representative for the actress released a statement saying because of the stresses in her life right now, demi has chosen to seek professional assistance to treat her exhaustion and improve her health. she looks forward to getting well and is grateful for the support of family and friends. the actress has been known for being in prime physical shape throughout her career. recently has appeared to have lost a tremendous amount of weight. >> demi has not looked very good over the last couple months. ever since the break-up it looked like she was getting thinner and thinner. >> reporter: moore announced plans to divorce last year after reports that kutcher was unfaithful on their wedding anniversary, of all nights. the stress of the divorce seems to have taken an emotional toll.

in this month's harper's bazaar the actress talks about her life and fears telling the magazine, i would say what scares me is that i'm going to ultimately find out at the end of my life that i'm really not lovable, that i'm not worthy of being loved, that there's something fundamentally wrong with me. >> people tell me demi has been upset. it's been a difficult time and she's heartbroken over that. i'm not necessarily connecting what happened monday night to the divorce, but it certainly couldn't have helped matters. >> moore's representative has confirmed that she's dropping out of the movie "lovelace" a biopic of linda lovelace. matt, back to you. >> now a check of the weather from al. >> yes, here we are. this lady is very excited. >> hi! i'm kim! hi, al. i'm 50 today.

>> happy birthday! >> this is not "the price is right." >> yes, it is! >> well, happy birthday. >> thank you. >> let's check your weather and see what's going on. we have a lot of severe stuff going on. friends in the pacific northwest getting hammered with high wind warnings, wind advisories, avalanches in the wasatch mountains. we'll be looking at snow. some areas in the intermountain regions, the cascades, one to two feet of snow. an inch or two of rain with problems there. rest of the country, heavy rain texas into the mid mississippi river valley. beautiful up and down the eastern seaboard. sunny >> good morning. the temperature will be cooler than yesterday but it will be nice for this time of year.

a mixture of sun and clouds. and check your weather day or night on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. ann? >> all right, al. thank you. kennedy cousin and convicted killer michael skakel is appealing for a reduced prison sentence. we'll talk to the victim's mother and brother in a moment. first, craig melvin has details on this. >> reporter: good morning. michael skakel appealed his sentence before, several times in fact. yesterday in the courtroom he didn't ask for forgiveness or apologize to the moxley family. instead as the moxley family and his looked and listened his

attorney said the sentence was too harsh. a cuffed, shackled and bigger 51-year-old michael skakel still insists he's innocent. >> i didn't commit this crime. >> reporter: the kennedy cousin stood in a connecticut courtroom tuesday and asked a three-judge panel to reduce his 20-year sentence for killing martha moxley. >> give me a polygraph. i have passed three sodium pent thol tests. >> reporter: a jury convicted michael skakel in 2002 for the brutal 1975 killing that shook their greenwich, connecticut, neighborhood. police say skakel, a troubled youth bludgeoned moxley to death with a golf club. both were 15 at the time. the case went unsolved for 25 years. in 2000 police arrested skakel, a nephew of ethel kennedy. moxley's mother shared her relief on "today." >> for years everyone said nothing would happen.

everyone said, don't get your hopes up. but, you know, we have proved all these people have worked so long that if you stick with it you truly can find justice. >> reporter: lawyers who argued his trial was tainted by distorted media coverage and bad publicity didn't argue innocence tuesday. instead they said the trial should have happened in a juvenile courtroom with a maximum sentence of four years. >> they looked at him as having committed a murder at that age. when, in fact, according to the jury verdict he committed the murder when he was a child. >> i pray for mrs. moxley every single day. i actually pray for her daughter every day. >> reporter: martha's family wasn't moved. >> michael belongs in jail for life. >> look at the years he was free and running around while we were a mess trying to find out what happened.

so why should he get out now? >> reporter: some legal experts say he probably won't. >> highly unlikely that he will win, get out early. these issues have been litigated already. even if he was prosecuted when he was 15 years old, he still would have been prosecuted as an adult. >> reporter: the judges are expected to issue a ruling on skakel's most recent request in about two months. michael skakel is eligible for parole in 2013. ann? >> craig melvin, thank you so much. martha's mother and brother, dorothy and john moxley join us this morning. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> john, you told the judge yesterday that time does not heal all wounds. revisiting this has been tough for your family. >> you go through all the things in everyday life. your friends have brothers and sisters, your kids have friends and every day, every way it's a death of a thousand cuts.

it's always there. it's always something you're thinking about. not all the time but it comes to you and when it comes to you it's unmistakable. >> despite every wish to not have it come to you here you are this morning. dorothy, what do you want to say about the effort by michael skakel to have his sentence reduced because he was a juvenile at the time of the crime? >> giving no thought at all to the victims. because we have suffered every day from the time martha was killed until today and he is complaining he wants to get out of jail because he's only had to suffer for nine and a half years. you know, i'm sorry. but i think he should stay in jail -- you know, he was tried by a jury of his peers. and they found him guilty and he

is constantly coming up with some reason for getting out. some reason why he should be out of jail and we have gone through all these things. i mean, the court has gone over all of these issues. it was a very well-run trial and he should just take his sentence and be done with it. i think. >> as you know, he's still maintaining his innocence. he says he prays for you, dorothy, and your family every day including martha. you're not moved by that at all? >> no. his family did many things to try and see what was going on, i guess what was in his head, what he had done. they sent him to special schools. they had him tested by special doctors. why would they do all that if they didn't suspect? if they didn't know? they know something has

happened. other neighbors didn't have their children tested and sent to special schools. the detective that worked on the case, the investigators. i mean, it was done so beautifully. exactly the way things should be done. >> john, do you think this is going to be something you will be fighting for some time? we heard craig report he's up for parole in 2013. you have two months to wait before the judge makes a decision. up to two months before a judge makes a decision on this to reduce his sentence. have you resigned yourself that this is something you will be fighting? >> absolutely. it is something we'll be doing forever, as long as we have a chance to speak up. we're going to speak up. as long as we have an opportunity to voice our opinions we're going to voice them. >> how long do you want him to stay in jail?

>> i would like him there for the rest of his life. >> for life. >> yeah. we have a life sentence. he'll have good days and bad in jail. martha won't have any days. >> your son says you stay positive. >> well, one of the reasons why i'm willing to do things like this, coming on the "today" show, is i'm hoping other victims will e know that you can survive. it is hard. but you can survive and people are wonderful. i mean, i'm not suspect of every person i see as being somebody terrible. people are wonderful. you can survive. you can have a very nice life. you just have to count your blessings. >> you said it, dorothy moxley. thank you, john. thank you, both of you, for joining us. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back after this.

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hysterical role. here's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: "bridesmaids" was the breakout come di of 20 11. [ belches ] >> i want to apologize. i don't know which end that came out of. >> reporter: even mccarthy never dreamed it would win her more than laughs. she said she she wasn't watching the announcements. >> you don't think a puking scene will get you an oscar nomination. >> reporter: hollywood's most hallowed award rarely awards comedy at all. only six comedies have been nominated for best picture. qu "bridesmaids" is up for best original screenplay. >> all this oscar talk for "bridesmaids" has to make you feel good. >> it's great. i felt like, just get a comedy

in there. i would love for the movie to be recognized. >> reporter: audiences adored the almost all female cast, especially mccarthy. >> there is something about melissa's performance in "bridesmaids" that's so completely fearless. from the second you see her character in the movie you know this is not going to be the typical sidekick character. she brings such a uniqueness. she's so gutsy, funny, outrageous. >> reporter: the golden globe winner will be walking the oscar red carpet with meryl streep and glenn close, but she's not your typical starlet. >> i'm from illinois and i'm standing here and it's amazing. >> reporter: mccarthy won an emmy in 2011 for her role as molly in "mike and molly" but fame as forced her to address controversy after a magazine writer blogged she was grossed out to watch two characters with roles of fat kissing each other.

ma mccarthy said, what a sad, troubled person. you're making such a judgment on people. she joked about her weight on snl. the mother of two, mccarthy is married to ben falcone who played the object of her airborne affections in "bridesmaids." >> do you feel the heat coming? >> reporter: the new oscar nominee can as mccarthy's star gets hotter. for "today," kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >> just ahead, another oscar nominated actress. we'll catch up with glenn close in quite a different role. first, these messages. slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks.

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am lisa robinson. time for a check of your morning commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> let's update you on problems on eastbound 32. it still have accident clearing there. accident in the clearing stages. delays down towards the 32. if you travel at 33rd and loch raven boulevard, watch for an accident. backs out from the ball the way towards 28 the street. 29 minutes to get you to the outer loop west side. that we have become more so than usual.

-- very heavy, more so than usual. 10-minute travel time from the beltway southwest towards 32. we will start on the northwest corner coming towards the ramp on southbound 795. holding onto delays on the west side outer loop. southbound traffic is not too bad. harbor tunnel traffic is looking good this hour. tony has a check on your forecast. >> nice start for us. temperatures on the chilly side. not cold. 34 in taneytown. 36 degrees in jarrettsville. things will change as we go into the afternoon. big storm system approaching from the southern plains. high temperatures between 45 and 50. and yesterday we made it into the upper 50s to around 60. good chance for rain tomorrow and into friday morning.

temperatures will be in the 40's. chilly but dry to start the day on saturday. some models are

8:00 now on a wednesday morning. it's the 25th day of january 2012. we've got a nice crowd kicking off their morning with us out here in rockefeller plaza where it's breezy but 39 degrees. not bad at all. we won't complain. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and al roker. and a distinguished lady in studio this morning. one of the best actresses you will find anywhere. that's glenn close who picked up an oscar nomination yesterday morning for her role in "albert nobbs." you hear people say this actor or actress is passionate about this movie. boy, is that true about glenn close in this movie. she's going to talk about the work she did to get the story to

the big screen. >> she's remarkable. we have a remarkable young woman in our studio. she's a science whiz. she's overcome tremendous odds to excel in the classroom because samantha has been living in a homeless shelter. last night she was a special guest at the state of the union address in washington. she drove all night to be with us this morning. we are excited to talk to her coming up. >> terrific story. speaking of stories, a man who's covered more than his share. we want to honor nbc news correspondent george lewis. retiring today after 42 years with nbc news. >> that's right. from the vietnam war to the iran hostage crisis to operation desert storm, george has been all over the world taking risks, working hard to bring you the stories of our time. the biggest stories of our time. >> ask any of the people who worked with george over the years and they will say he's a journalist's journalist.

he reports with clarity and integrity. he'll take time off, travel the world and spend time with his children and his grandson. george, a job well done. we have learned so much from you over the years. thank you very much. >> exceedingly well done. we'll miss you, george. >> when is the last time he had a long trip for fun? natalie is at the news desk with a check of the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. a kidnapped american aid worker and her danish colleague are headed home after an overnight rescue mission by the navy s.e.a.l.s. jessica buchanan and paul fisted were kidnapped three months ago. they were freed in a raid that left nine pirates dead. president obama phoned buchanan's father after the state of the union address last night to tell him that his daughter was safe. president obama travels to iowa today launching a three-day road trip to promote economic themes outlined in the state of the union address. the president called for

rebuilding the middle class, higher taxes on the wealthy and more manufacturing in the u.s. in an exclusive interview this morning republican presidential candidate newt gingrich told ann there is a gap between the president's rhetoric and his actions. >> last night he seemed to be setting up an entire year of decisiveness, of getting nothing done. i thought it was sad and reflects the last couple of years. >> gingrich is campaigning in florida ahead of next week's crucial primary. now to wall street and cnbc's mary thompson. big earnings for apple. >> strong holiday sales of iphones and ipads helped apple to report monster profits for the last quart aer. now it will be competing with exxon mobile for title of world's largest company. no change in interest rates seen but for the first time ever

central bankers will be saying where they expect interest rates to be down the road. that's good information for anyone considering buying a house over the next couple of years. lastly tonight on cnbc don't miss the season premiere of "american greed" at 9:00 eastern. back to you. >> mary thompson from the new york stock exchange. an astonishing fight in kentucky. tens of thousands of birds arrived in november and they haven't left, blotting out the sun when they take to the air. for now the best they can do is fire noise cannons and wait for birds to move on. now for a look at what's trending today, our quick round-up of what has you talking online, fashion followers are googling the state of the union address to marvel at first lady michelle obama's dress. the blue silk stunner was created by los angeles designer barbara t. bank who also designed the floral dress mrs. obama wore to buckingham palace last may. facebook is getting an earful over users upset over the

use of timeline barraging the blog page with complaints that timeline makes personal musings from the past and embarrassing photos easier to find. and uggie the dog is trending after his oscar snub. the jack russell terrier was left out of tuesday's academy award nominations though he clearly stole the show in "the artist." more than half of those responding to the poll say he should have received an oscar nod. i agree. 8:05. now back outside to al. we love uggie. >> you're correct. we have indiana nurses. you're rooting for the giants? >> oh, yeah. >> no patriots fans in indiana. >> let's check your weather, see what's going on. the whole "today" show will be in indiana for the super bowl. we love it. our pick city today is atlanta. partly sunny and mild. 64 degrees. we've got a lot of rough weather

in texas where we have flash flood watches and warnings, flood warnings as well. heavy rain anywhere from three to five inches of rain over the next 48 h hours. could be tornadoes as well. more heavy rain northern california, pacific northwest. heavy mountain snows. weather looks great on the eastern seaboard. it will clear in the northeast. >> good morning. it will turn out to beat a pretty nice day today. we'll be in the upper 40's today. a mixture of sun and clouds. your mom doesn't recognize you? >> no. she asked me, what are you

wearing. i said, after 46 years i think you would recognize my face. >> we have issues there. hopefully you will get quality time with mom. ann? >> thanks, al. don't you just love glenn close? she's in our studi talking about a golden globe nomination right after this. -i love this card. -with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. it's 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% cash back on oscar. ...tony. oscar! 2% back on whatever she'll eat. 3% back on filling up this baby. [ male announcer ] now get 1-2-3 percent cash back. it's that simple. [ male announcer ] apply online or at a bank of america near you. we're talking 3% back on gas.

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we are back at 8:10 with newly minted oscar nominee glenn close nominated for her role as the title character in "albert nobbs." she plays a butler at a dublin hotel hiding a secret. he is actually a woman. after more than 30 years she's finally considering a new life. take a look. >> i might purchase a real

business. >> ah, a business. fancy that. what kind of business? >> perhaps a little shop. >> hmm. what kind of a shop? >> i'm thinking maybe tobacco. >> tobacco. good for a man. >> but a woman could serve at the counter? >> yes, indeed. a woman could. >> glenn close, good morning. welcome back. where were you when you heard the news of the nomination. your sixth, by the way. >> feels like it's my first. >> really? why. >> it really does. because i have never been this, you know, involved in anything that i have done so far. >> i hinted at that outside. you played this character on stage back in the early 1980s. >> yep. >> and vowed at that point you

were going to get this character to a wider audience. boy, you have championed this movie. >> yeah. i had only done one movie when i played albert before. i had only done "the world according to garp." i didn't know much about producing. but the story and the character stayed with me. >> you produced this, cowrote the script, wrote the lyrics for the theme song, cooked all the food for kraft services, scouted locations. what made you decide the story had to be told? >> i think i love stories that i think have a great emotional connection with an audience. that's number one. number two, being challenged by a character as an actor. number three, having a story that, for example, might take place in 19th century dublin but has huge resonance for very important issues that we are facing today.

>> you gave me a dvd so i was watching yesterday. i worry that if this movie -- if just snippets of the movie are heard by the audience they will think it's a reverse tootsie movie. it's important to understand this is a very complex character. there are reasons why this character is dressing as a man. >> yes. she's in that time in victorian -- you know, women had absolutely no rights. if you were nameless with no family, no money and were unmarried, what a woman could do was very limited. she would end up on the street as a prostitute. this woman had a very traumatic thing happen when she was 14 and decided the way she could disappear was to become a waiter in a profession where you are supposed to be invisible. >> i look at the picture. there is a lot of makeup involved here, two hours a day. there is the costuming. what did you do for the

demeanor? how did you get the mannerisms. i understand the name charlie chaplin came up. >> yes. i always felt albert was somebody who wasn't comfortable in her skin and there was something kind of almost comic about the way she would move though now it's become natural. i studied charlie chaplin films, how he walked, how long his shoes were. albert is pushing that envelope a little bit. >> your costar, janet mcteer also got a nomination. she was here yesterday and said it was wonderful when she heard she was no, ma'am that itted and incredible when she heard you were as well. you lifted each other in the movie. >> oh, we did. i thought of hubert for a long time. what janet brought to the character was astounding. she's become to me a great hero,

heroine, whatever. >> i mentioned five other nominations before this one yet to win. i don't want people to think your mantle is empty. three tonys, three emmys, golden globes, screen actors guild. you were customer of the month at blockbuster video. >> i was queen of the new york car show. >> see? >> one of the more humiliating moments in my life. >> what would it mean to win? >> oh, boy. it would be phenomenal. it really would be. at this point in my career having believed in this for so long. it's still hard for me to think we actually pulled it off. it was that tricky. to be recognized like that would be a huge honor. terribly gratifying. >> we'll see what happens. congratulations on the nominations. glenn, a pleasure to see you. "albert nobbs" opens nationwide january 27th. up next, the homeless teen who

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cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. this morning on education nation today, a young woman who went from a homeless shelter to last night's state of the union address. we'll talk to her in a moment. but first, nbc's chief education correspondent rehema ellis has details. hey, good morning. >> good morning, ann. samantha garvey is here tnear t of her class in high school and just clal identified for a science competition, amazing for anyone, but there is much more to samantha's story. she looks like a typical teenager. but for samantha garvey, life has been an extraordinary whirlwind since news broke that she's a semifinalist in the nation's prestigious intel science competition with a shot at the $100,000 prize. >> i'm not sure how to put it

into words. i don't know. it's amazing, wild, crazy. >> reporter: beneath the petite frame and chipped nail polish is a story of triumph over turmoil. as word got out that the brentwood, new york, high school senior with a 3.9 grade point average was also homeless. >> basically we were having financial trouble and we got behind on rent payments. by november/december we were notified that we had to leave the house and we were evicted on december 31. >> reporter: samantha, her parents and her younger brother and sister were forced to leave this home and move to a nearby shelter where the family dog was not allowed. >> on the holidays you're not celebrating the holidays. you're putting your stuff in storage and looking for a place to live. it's really not -- it's kind of -- it's bad. >> reporter: with the help of her counselors and teachers,

particularly rebecca samantha managed to stay on track with her studies in marine biology. >> she has the intellect, the drive, the determination to succeed no matter what. >> reporter: officials in suffolk county social services stepped in and offered the family a three-bedroom home through an affordable housing program for families in shelters. >> we had to leave everything behind at the old place so to have everything given to us -- you know, this is completely amazing. thank you. >> reporter: a call from the ellen degeneres show resulted in more good news. >> a $50,000 scholarship. [ cheers and applause ] >> i could not believe it. i have never seen that many zeroes in my life. >> reporter: then an invitation from her local congressman to attend the president's state of the union address. >> she has not only inspired her peers, but she has inspired her community and the nation at large. >> my parents said, keep your

head up. if you look down and mope, nothing will come out of it. i always took that to heart. i just kept a positive mentality. >> reporter: samantha garvey is keeping that positive outlook as she waits to hear from colleges. this is a kid who told me she figured out early on that education is her ticket to a better life. she's truly a remarkable kid and it's a great story, ann? >> it is, rehema ellis. thank you so much. samantha garvey now joins us. good morning. >> good morning. >> you have in your hand still a copy of the president's speech. >> yes. >> he's signed it for you? is that right? >> yes. >> want to show us the signature? >> yes. >> a speech from the state of the union address. you carried this, driving all night to get here. are you tired this morning? >> definitely pretty tired. >> what's it like for you to have been there? what's the strongest memory you have of that last night? >> just being there. it was the craziest feeling.

being behind the scenes you get a perspective you would never dream of having. this was once in a lifetime. just standing there and you see the first lady come out and you're just struck, in awe, like frozen. all you want to do is gaze at her. she's beautiful. the president comes in and you're clapping and clapping. i don't know how long i clapped. that was the longest i have ever clapped and i didn't mind. everything was so amazing. having these historical figures, people so prominent standing right in front of you. >> a lot of people listening now are more amazed by where you started from to get to that experience. what was it that allowed you, despite the sufferings in your family -- there was a car accident, your parents losing b jobs, an illness. all kinds of issues. what allowed you despite the fact that you were homeless to

still maintain such a high g.p.a., to be so good in school? >> i would say my research, science have been my ticket out. you know? throughout all of the things i faced i have been able to go to school and get my education and do my studies. that's my way out. keep me focused, keep me from going off track. >> you're saying it was not a crutch but it was the thing that was beautiful. >> yes, exactly. >> at a time when things with were not easy. >> yes. >> as i understand it you are getting your dog back is this. >> we got our dog back. an anonymous person came forward and paid for our dog and took her out of the shelter. she's now happy in a little dog hotel doing much better. >> you're still in the shelter. >> yes. >> when do you think you may be living at home because your father is working again. >> hopefully very soon.

>> also hopefully is you will get accepted to a good college. you have applied to yale and brown. >> yes. >> you are waiting to hear as we heard from rehema who may or may not accept you. what do you want to do with your life? >> i want to keep doing what i'm doing now. i want to work hard and continue doing my science. being at the state of the union last night i got to meet fantastic people. i thought, i kind of want to do what they do. i want to take the policy aspect and keep doing that along with the science part of it. >> well, you have shown us all that there is great potential all over america that needs to be encouraged. thank you for showing us so much. >> thank you. >> such an uplifting story. samantha, thank you. good luck to you. >> thank you. >> we have more ahead including martha stewart after your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am lisa robinson. let's get a final check of the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> we are waiting for delays to clear out but a lot of volume out there. jessop, 175, selma road, still clearing there. loch raven boulevard, a vehicle with entrapment there. j.f.x. is pretty much maxed out from the beltway. 22 miles per hour ron average from white marsh to the 895

split. 12 on the west side outer loop. exceptionally heavy approaching 795 down to edmondson. 29 minutes to get you through the outer loop stretch. if you apply to head out in the area of 95 towards the 83's, six minutes to get you through the stretch on the outer loop. you can see ever the traffic on the west side, making your way all the way to edmondson. we will switch over to a life of traffic in fort mchenry. saw and delays towards the harbor tunnel -- outbound delays towards the top harbor tunnel looks good in contrast. >> we have a little bit of high, in cloud cover to start your day. pretty nice by january standards. 33 at the airport. 40 in the city. 46 degrees in parkton. we will make it into the upper 40's this afternoon. between 45 and 50, a mixture of

sunshine and clouds. rain should linger into friday morning. it will turn colder over the weekend. >> we will see you back here at 8:55.

8:30 now on this wednesday morning. it's the 25th day of january 2012. as we say hello to a lot of nice people in rockefeller plaza. time is flying fast. just ahead we have a lot to talk about including what to do with our space. we have martha stewart here showing us how to organize. i can use that advice. >> we all can. >> what else? >> henry winkler is in studio

now. he's a great actor and quite an author. by my count i believe he's written 19 books. i think that's what it is. >> he has a wing at the new york library. >> exactly. he'll bel be talking about a ne book and what else he's up to. he's very busy. >> later on, answers to your money 911 emergencies. our team will tackle everything from how to pay for college if you want to go to school later in life, what to do with a timeshare especially now during the tough times if you can't afford it. >> and fashion advice on how to wear white in the winter. do you wear white in winter? >> yes. winter white they call it. >> yes. >> as it is winter tell us about the temperature and the weather. >> i think i shall. we'll show you for today sunny skies up and down the eastern seaboard. heavy rain texas, louisiana into arkansas and kentucky, tennessee

today into tomorrow. heavy rain along the pacific northwest coast. as we move into tomorrow we've got a risk of strong storms down through the lower his misriv mississippi river valley. mountain snows. frigid and sunny in new england. >> good morning. the temperature will be cooler than yesterday but it will be nice for this time of year. a mixture of sun and clouds. don't forget. check the weather any time you need to on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. now our little snowbird willard

scott has flown the coop from washington and landed in florida. uncle willy? >> oh, from the sunkissed shores from the gulf of mexico here in beautiful south seas plantation in captiva, florida. happy birthday from smucker's, margaret lip toton. she loves tea for lunch. she's from san diego, california, and is madly in love with leonardo dicaprio. she's a cougar. all these women love the younger guys. i haven't got a chance because i'm half dead. take a look at esther ringkob from jackson, minnesota. 100 years old today. loves to grow flowers and absolutely happy all her life. she's read the bible for 76 years. can't beat that. if you will check it out, please, birthday number three, bula smith. i like that name. she's from lake oswego in

oregon. there's one in new york and oregon. i bet you didn't know that. anyway, she once had dinner with presidents ford and nixon. how about that? she's a lady. sh knows how to get around. i suspect she's a republican. just a wild guess. james brown. great singer. loudon, tennessee. 100 years old today and enjoys having fun and playing golf every single day he can. happy birthday from smucker's. how sweet it is. to beautiful adele khoury of waco, texas. that's a western town. 100 years old today. she loves to play bingo and she reads her bible every day. i do, too. try to anyway. catherine jones. she's from lewes, delaware. i know that town. 100 today.

she's an avid phillies fan and watches them on television all the time. and we have the lovely eivo eivor cederquist from nutley, new jersey, not nightly news. she credits her longevity to good swedish genes. back to new york. wish you were here. >> willard, thank you. we wish you were here. when we come back, martha stewart gets you organized. first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪it's the way you bring out the sun♪

my mom makes any day sunny. sunnyd does, too. with 40% fewer calories than most regular soda brands. ♪ this morning on martha on "today," organizing your home office whether you're running the family business or just a family, it can save you time and money. martha stewart is here with great ideas from the organizing issue of the best of martha stewart living.

martha, good morning and welcome. >> how are you? >> you look very nice in the leather pants. >> thank you very much. >> you say even if you don't have an office you need a desk. >> every home needs command central whether it's a desk in the kitchen, a desk in the back hall. some place where mom or dad or family can get organized. that special issue has absolutely hundreds of really good practical, easy ideas. this is just one nice desk. this is our ready to assemble desk from home decorators which is a catalog of the home depot. we designed it and it's fabulous with all kinds of configurations for furniture like this. >> one of your ideas is to use wall street. >> indeed. >> how are you doing it? >> magnetic board there and all of the things can be stuck on with magnets. that's just a piece of steel. this is a painted board. that's the wonderful blackboard

paint we sell also. it's wonderful. you can write on it, erase, write again. to do today. this is a wonderful little attachment. you can screw it into any surface and that will hold your chalk, eraser, whatever. isn't it great? >> what i like is that you can find things which is something i rarely am able to do. >> all these beautiful boxes are available at staples. staples now has a -- i'm sorry to plug martha stewart so much but we designed all this amazing new desk organizing. >> why don't you help us make a board. let's look at some of the boards. what about this clipboard board. >> decorated decoupage clipboards, one for each member of the family or one for dill bills, to dos, invitations. you can take them to your desk. and work on it. >> and bring them back.

>> absolutely. if you have a long hallway you can do one for everybody in the family. >> pegboards. >> pegboard comes in brown. why not paint it something that matches the wall or contrasts with your wall. then put your hooks in and all these various alternative ways to put thread, wax twine to wrap presents, hot glue gun. anything you use at that particular spot. >> i have a feeling if i put this together it would not look as pretty as this. >> copy it exactly. then you will. we'll take a picture for you. >> this is a simple one. >> this is a fabric-covered board. it e it e's something you can pin things on. notice the little wooden push pins. >> it has to be special if martha has it. we want to save money. >> make the templates the size of your board.

we did a little maneuvering. that's your shape. which of these do you like? >> i see. you're cutting out wallpaper or a piece of paper? >> any paper you want. >> this is mod podge and a soft brush. do the back first. paint it all over. this is the decoupage glue. >> is it expensive? >> no. very inexpensive. you can use pretty paper, left over wallpaper. and you have to get the whole thing covered. >> you will want to put it on without wrinkling it. that's my style. >> we have a tool to unwrinkle everything. >> catching up with with martha. >> get it on your board and this is the smoother tool. see this? >> uh-huh.

this is something you should have. >> you could use a ruler? >> sure. or the edge of the back of a dull knife. >> i'm not sure i'm doing it straight. >> very nicely. then mod podge over the front for the completely finished look. when that dries you are left with a cute clipboard. >> yours is cuter than mine. we only have 30 seconds left. this is my style. >> old fashion eed board you ca buy at home depot or any place and you just staple the fabric. a contrasting fabric that matches your decoration in your house. >> this is fun. >> it is. it's like upholstering a chair seat. >> is there a fabric you wouldn't use? >> no. you can use anything. do top first and then bottom. draw it tight. do the corners neatly and when

you're done, it's simple. you can put ribbons on it in a grid or diamond shapes. and just stick papers in. >> great for the kids room. >> all the children should have lots of these. >> coming up we'll catch up with the fonz himself. henry winkler is in the house. >> i love him. >> i know! >> first, this is "today" on nbc.

8:45 now. to many he will always be the fonz but henry winkler has come a long way since his days an "happy days." he's an actor and best selling author of children's books. now he has a new series called "ghost buddy." the first one is "zero to hero". >> i'm happy to see you.

>> 17 of the hank zipster books and others? >> there are two ghost buddies i have written with my incredible partner lynn oliver. >> 19 books in your career. did you ever see this side of your career taking you this far? >> i'm shocked out of my socks. it was a suggestion by a friend of lynn's. somebody i knew, alan burger. lynn and i met and all of the sudden there we were. >> for the people who became familiar with hank and the series, how is ghost buddy different? >> hank was about me as a dyslexic. ghost buddy is about bullying and kids being responsible to one another in a comedy. you know, this little 12-year-old boy finds a ghost in his closet. >> first of all his mother gets remarried so he moves to a new place, new school. the things kids deal with as challenges.

>> with a blended family. >> he goes to the house. >> first night, can't fall asleep. in his closet, closet is starts to open. all of the sudden his baseball jersey flies out. goes to the window. >> my kids will never sleep again. >> the ghost is irresponsible and funny. he says, you can call me a ghost. i like that. phantom is okay. i think it's rude when you call me a banshee. >> i just got nostalgic for a second. what did i hear in that? >> you may have heard a little bit of a can recollect terharac. for two months i walked around lynn's office and spoke like arthur. >> the ghost is based on the fonz? >> he's in me. he came out. >> i look at the picture in the leather jacket and i remember the sit com so fondly. this is a guy who probably never read a book and now you have written 19. >> i didn't read a book until i was 30.

>> i know. that's an incredible gift you have given to other children struggling with with learning disabilities. the idea that here's a guy who had the same thing and look what he's done. >> that's what we tell children all the time. we spoke to 500 kids in north port yesterday. we say, look, i have to tell you, you have greatness inside you. your job is to figure out what your gift is and dig it out. >> as a matter of fact, for your work in helping these children you were honored and recognized by the queen of england. >> i was. >> you stood her up. >> no! >> you stood her up. >> not exactly. i was making a movie. >>itis it's a better story if you stood her up. >> okay. i stood her up. i said, hey, i don't like your hat. i'm not going. but i do carry the award with me at all times. i spend most of my time polishing it. >> it's beautiful. let's show the camera.

you couldn't be there to get the award so you were given it in washington. >> i was supposed to be given it by prince charles. i sfotood him up, too. one royal, all of them. >> speaking of royal you will be back on "royal pains"? >> yes, starting in april. >> you're doing another show i had not heard of. i started to read about it. this is on "the cartoon network" called children's hospital. >> it was one of the first live action shows on at 12:00 at night. it is an an or kiss tick comear comedy. i'm supposed to say meta. i don't know what that means. >> this is not a show for kids. >> nor is it about kids. this year i had a 4th grader in bed, you know, at the hospital and i brought her a ser is vis animal to help her cross the street. we didn't have enough money for a dog. i brought her a snake.

>> i'm getting a sense of what the show is about. baerks congratulations. grandfather again? >> oh, ace was born six days ago. india bell is 2 now. she's home watching. >> life is good. >> life is good. >> always nice to have you here, henry. >> thank you. >> the book is "ghost buddy, zero to hero." still ahead answers to your most pressing money emergencies. first, thi

are america's best days behind us? in his new book former national security adviser warns they could be if we don't address challenges and reorient america's role in the world. the book is called "strategic vision." what a pleasure. good morning to you. >> it's nice to be with you. >> for a couple of reasons. not only because we admire you but because your daughter has worked at msnbc. before we talk about your book i want your reaction to something the president said in the state of the union address last night. take a listen.

anyone who tells you that america is in decline or that our influence has waned doesn't know what they're talking about. >> the first chapter of the book is called "the receding west." do you agree with the president? do you believe america is on the decline, is waning in its influence? >> it's not a matter of america declining or the west declining. it's that others are rising. anyone who knows anything about balance knows you can either go down or somebody can come up. somebody is coming up. we have to get ourselves in shape both domestically and internationally in order to be able to compete more effectively. >> one thing you say we have to do is overcome internal challenges. in fact, you say that if we do not do that countries that don't embrace our democratic values will rise up to replace us? >> to replace us or more likely to create chaos. when i discuss the consequences of the change in world affairs in which others are rising and we are not competing effectively, i say the world of

the future in the near term, the next 20 years or so is not going to be chinese. it's going to be chaotic. in either case it's not good for us. we have to really concentrate on two things. one, how do we improve our domestic performance. two, how do we have a more effective global strategy? >> first of all, take them one by one. how do we improve our domestic performance? you know about the gridlock in washington. do you see anything that's going to break it? >> after the elections, i hope. hopefully no demagogue with simplistic notions of how to deal with the world will win. then we can address the structural problems, begin to develop capitalism with a human face. more so for consciousness. less disparity and injustice is. i think we can fashion a more intelligence foreign policy by working with allies and also by not creating enemies unnecessarily. i have in mind china. >> at the same time you seem to

be agreeing and saying there are real challenges in america's power. you seem to be echoing what we are hearing from the gop presidential candidates, from romney and gingrich. do you agree with their prescription on the second point you're making about how to deal with the world? >> i don't agree because i frankly don't know what they are. they sound like slogans without much substance. i haven't seen an intelligent critique of foreign policy from mr. romney or even worse from mr. gingrich. >> one of the key topics we have been hearing about is the concern about iran. you know what's been happening, the concern, tensions in the straits of hormuz, concern about iran's rise in efforts to create nuclear weapons. are we headed, in your view, based on all you know for war with iran? >> we could be. i think it's avoidable. we have to be careful how we

conduct ourselves. because we could have a miscalculation. when you use pressure with sanctions, and so forth, you have to be careful not to go to the point that the other field is facing and impose suicide. it might lash out. so it's a question of balancing force with persuasion. >> a very smart book called "strategic vision." we're back after this. >> this is wbal-tv 11 is today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am lisa robinson. a whistle-blower could lead a huge reward. he was tipping the authorities on the illegal dumping of oil of of ridership last year.

the former crew member could get a half-million dollars for

>> should turn out to be a pretty nice day. clouds will thicken up as we head into the afternoon. plenty of sunshine this morning. temperatures will be above average attend. rain is likely tomorrow and